"Do not, I beg you, be troubled by forces already dissolved. You have mistaken the hour of the night. It is already morning." (Hilaire Belloc)

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Fasting, as the Dreaded Synod approaches

“But this kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:20)Well, there we have it. The words of Our Lord Himself on the value of fasting when it comes to casting out the demons.We at The Eye-Witness are respectfully requesting that our comrades-in-arms, our good bloggers and websites, join with us in encouraging a special fast day, or days, to fight the machinations of those who will, at the upcoming Synod, attempt to radically change beyond all recognition the Catholic Faith, the one, true Faith out of which no one may be saved.

Our insignificant blog cannot do this alone; therefore we appeal to our colleagues to write about this initiative on their own blogs and websites, so that many in the Catholic world - and non-Catholic world, hopefully - will join us in this effort to do something the Devil despises and hates: fast.A rather sobering reminder of what we are up against was succinctly stated by the editors of LifeSite News:Those opposed to Church moral teachings, especially related to contraception, marriage and homosexuality, now appear to have lost all fear of being held accountable for their betrayals and infidelity. If anything, they have become bullies who are prouder and more determined than ever to force dramatic changes to the teachings of two millennia.They have "lost all fear" of any reprisals. Indeed.The Synod will commence on October 4th and end on the 15th. If there are those who cannot do either a five, or seven or nine day fasting regimen for the intention of thwarting the Masters of Chaos, may we recommend one day at least: Saturday, October 3, the First Saturday of the Month of Our Lady's Rosary and the feast day of St Therese of Lisieux in the traditional calendar. On that one day, the day before the Synod begins, perhaps many in the Church could fast, according to the traditional fasting rules of the Church.There are many fine initiatives already going on: a 54-day rosary novena (which we are honored to be participating in), Masses being said, private prayers, petitions, the Children's Crusade of Prayer (see side bar) and a number of others. These are all good and necessary, and no one should abandon what they are already doing. Many blogs have already made brilliant suggestions. We add this one to the list because we know the efficacy of fasting, how it stops even The Evil One in his tracks. And we hope that it may be an addition to other prayerful efforts now being made.Prayer and Fasting casts out the devils, so Our Lord reminds us. It is our hope that many will join us in using this tool, as well as others, to stop them from what many of them are trying to do.

As I understand the traditional fasting rules, it basically means a very small breakfast, a very, very light lunch, and a moderate supper, with no eating at all in between meals. If someone else can offer more info, that would be great.

Bread and water would be awfully severe, but if you can handle it then give it a thought. Your priest might have some other suggestions.

According to the objecting Muslim, Oktoberfest includes "public nudity". I confess I never heard of such a thing. If that is true, I would be shocked (even though I know Europe is a tad more "earthy" than we Americans are used to). If there is public nudity one would hope that some Christian common sense, along with admonitions by any good priests in Germany who may still be around, would put a stop to it. As for drinking....well, our Muslim friend will have to get used to that - or he can move to some US Bible-belt enclave where drinking is verboten - like those sects who hilariously claim that Our Lord drank grape juice instead of wine!

I do not know how this whole emigration business is going to shake out. I know perfectly well who created this mess - the mad bombers on the Potomac - but I have no idea how this will end, or indeed what to do about it. I have formed a few preliminary opinions on this mess myself but I don't intend to bore my readers with them until more verifiable facts come to light. To be on he safe side, however, it would be smart to reject both the Pamela Geller/William Kilpatrick/Robert Spencer/David Horowitz "jihad watcher" ravings on the one hand, and reject the phony heart-wrenching being displayed by others.

Sadly, we live at a time of intense emotional manipulation. The world is swimming in lies. Many of these lies are fostered by those with agendas, be they political or moral. We are not allowed much of the truth; we have to search it out ourselves, and that is very difficult. The Father of Lies thrives on misinformation and deceit. Our political leaders are not truthful, and our Church, for all intents and purposes, has abandoned us to our own devices.

Can a group of people use their influence to stop something they don't like? Yes. The supreme example of that is how Abe Foxman and his sinister Anti-Defamation League was able to completely emasculate the traditional Oberammergau Passion Play held in Germany every year for centuries. That was raw power in action coupled, of course, with unseemly toadying by cowardly, craven Church leaders. Here, the truth about the crucifixion of Christ was obliterated by arrogant enemies of the Church while the Church cowered in fear. So, yes, a group of people can do such things. I have my doubts, however, that Muslims in general would have such power in a country other than their own. Given the near-universal cowardice of our reptilian leaders such a thing could be possible, one supposes. But I suspect that if some angry Muslims were attacking something wholly Catholic instead of a harvest festival they would have immense support from such entities as the government and the Anti-Defamation League. I doubt Oktoberfest would qualify for that kind of national campaign (to be continued)

We are being whipped into an anti-Muslim frenzy by forces with an agenda, and we are being whipped up by reports of horrible, fanatical Muslim barbarism - though conveniently forgetting that this movement of fanatical Muslim barbarism (ISIS, al Nusra, etc.) has been created by our own leaders, and forgetting that the most effective fighters against extremist Muslims are Muslim nations like Syria and Iran. Does no on ask the obvious question: if we are supposed to be fighting these fanatics, why are we trying to oust the leaders most successful in fighting them?

Should we be concerned about rising Islam? Yes, of course. But we should not forget that such people can be converted. Not the ignorant fanatics, but the more noble and peaceful ones. Yes, believe it or not, there are Muslims out there with good will, despite the stupidities vomited out by the William Kilpatricks of the world (why an excellent publication like Crisis should publish this man's rubbish is a mystery to me.) The fact that Kilpatrick is a paid mouthpiece for the Shillman Foundation should be an eye-opener to those interested in what motivates him. Shabbat goys (sorry) like Kilpatrick and Robert Spencer are the useful idiots of people far smarter than they are.

It pains me to see so many of my fellow Catholics - good, solid, prayerful Catholics - falling for the propaganda created by the real villains. That is why articles and/or hoaxes like the one you mentioned are so common. We are being lied to and manipulated constantly, neverendingly. There is always a "Mad Mullah" being trotted out to scare the public while our masters do their little dirty work behind-the-scenes. It is the same as with Russia's Putin: he is the new villain of the day because he has the guts to say "no" to the US' war-mongering. Hence, he must be vilified and destroyed.

No, I am not an apologist for Mohammedism. But I recognize that there are differences among the various strains of Islam, such as this:https://www.gloria.tv/media/SuJnz1SHeLF

I don't attempt to explain that news story, merely to point out that not everything is as black and white as we sometimes believe. And I myself once had an encounter with Muslims in London that was most interesting, and wrote about it on the blog some time back.

So a rise in fanatical Islam should be a concern, as long as we know who is dealing the cards, and why.

As I said in the earlier comment I do not know what to make of this migration situation. On the surface it does not bode well for Europe. I know who caused it but I do not know what to do about it. (The Washington war criminals, destroyers of Iraq and Libya and now Syria, are blaming Putin!! Talk about chutzpah.) I am watching with interest how sensible statesmen like Viktor Orban in Hungary (another Bad Guy, according to Washington) are dealing with it. Orban still seems to have a Catholic sensibility so his actions are worthy of note. But I do know that we are again being manipulated and lied to by both the Left and the Right and we need to keep God and His Church close to our hearts and minds.

@Aged Parent: You're so right about being deceived and manipulated from both the Left and the Right. I find it blatantly noticeable on the conservative sites I frequent much more talk/accusations of Obama being a Muslim, etc. Just one example. And the sites tendency to find the stories to put out there about crazy things happening around our own country, in this or that school district, etc. All I can do is try to click through the links provided to find out as much as I can that the story is "maybe" credible. Still, we don't know.